


Smoldering Gold

by the_rain_shall_fall



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Day 1, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, vanderan week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 10:18:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11735025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_rain_shall_fall/pseuds/the_rain_shall_fall
Summary: It was the same every single day. The same train, the same people, and the same path he took to work and back home. He wasn’t expecting to see smoldering gold when he took the long way home.





	Smoldering Gold

**Author's Note:**

> iiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s Vanderan Week! ₍˄·͈༝·͈˄₍˄·͈༝·͈˄( ͒ ु•·̫• ू ͒)˄·͈༝·͈˄₎˄·͈༝·͈˄₎ fudge I am as happy as a bunny right now! RPing as Vandy gives me too many ideas for this cute week so here’s a fic for day 1! ~(=^‥^)ノ☆
> 
> Day 1: First Meeting

It was the same noisy alarm that woke him up. The same routine to make – quick shower, cook breakfast, get dressed for work, and leave the house at exactly 6:00 a.m. It was the same every single day. The same train, the same people in suits, and the same path he took to work and back home. He wasn’t expecting to see smoldering gold when he took the long way home.

Vanderwood was a normal secretarial employee of C&R International. He would spend long, grueling days with an unending stack of paperwork and projects to handle. The brunet used to have a teaching job, but he wasn’t making enough. He was spending more than what he was earning. Looking back, maybe he should’ve stayed as a teacher. All this stress wasn’t doing him any good, even though what went in his back account was already growing to 6 figures.

The brunet sighed, reading through the project he was assigned to. Another cat project, this time it was a cat daycare. His boss, Han Jumin, had an obsession with cats, it was weird and he couldn’t see why the ladies adored it. Sure, it wasn’t everyday you’d see a man gushing over his cat, but Mr. Han was on another level. Vanderwood shook his head and went back to reading the papers. Thinking about the cat obsession of his boss won’t help with the task at hand.

He didn’t notice when it struck lunchtime, but he was quicker than lightning in going down to the cafeteria when he realized it was break time. He stretched on his seat, the delicious smelling food was inviting and he couldn’t wait but dig in.

“Good job today, Ms. Vanderwood.” Jaehee Kang’s voice was like the gentle jingle of wind chimes. The brunet always looked forward to talks with the assistant, not because he found her attractive. Oh no, Miss Kang was an attractive woman, but she already had a girlfriend. He looked forward to spending time with her mostly because they could blabber about how hectic the day had been, and it would do wonders to their stress levels. Not to mention, it was fun to listen to the usually stoic woman gush about her idol ZEN and her ever supportive girlfriend.

“Miss Kang. I keep telling you it’s not ‘Miss.’ The others are looking weirdly at you.” He teased as the woman smiled brightly at him. It was an inside joke between the two of them – Jaehee thought he was a woman at first and starting then, she didn’t drop the ‘Miss’ which would garner confused looks from other employees, but Vanderwood didn’t mind. “What did Mr. Han demand of you today?”

Unlike other days where Jaehee would go on a long rant about how Mr. Han was insisting in launching another cat project which they weren’t sure would even hit, the woman’s eyes brightened considerably and she made this little, unnoticeable wiggle. Vanderwood was in for a big surprise if the other looked this excited.

“Mr. Han put me in charge of a café.” Jaehee took a sip from her coffee cup before beginning a long, detailed plan on what kind of café, what ambiance, what to sell, who to cater – down to the smallest detail of what furniture to use. The brunet listened intently, never missing a beat or even the slightest gesture the woman was making. She was practically glowing and her actions screamed ‘happy,’ Vanderwood was genuinely glad for her. Jaehee found something to look forward to besides going home to the love of her life. Their lunch break was spent on talking about their projects and asking each other for tips, which was quite a nice change in his monotonous routine.

Maybe something was wrong with this day. Were the fates preparing him for something positive? Or were they merely playing around with him? Either way, he wasn’t expecting to be given an early leave. It seemed that maintenance didn’t do their work right, and now to avoid important soft-copied documents getting deleted or lost on accident, C&R granted its employees to leave earlier while maintenance and IT personnel worked together to fix the problem.

The sun was barely setting and the wind was cool against his skin, so Vanderwood decided to take the long way home. A nice, leisurely walk was perfect for a day like this. Furthermore, he might catch his former students getting out of school. Dropping by for a short hello wouldn’t hurt seeing as he had time to spare.

“Seonsaengnim!” A group of students surrounded him immediately and Vanderwood nodded, recognizing his former students. There had been a lot of questions about him – where did he work, why wasn’t he dropping by, did he have a girlfriend – and as much as the brunet missed his students, he certainly didn’t miss this interrogation part.

“I just arrived and you’re already hitting it hard with the questions. I can only handle a few.” He said with a small smile, his eyes roaming until it met a pair of golden eyes. The brunet felt like his surroundings stopped as his focus was solely on those beautiful, smoldering eyes as if he was in a daze.

“Seongsaengnim?” He tore his gaze from the boy and looked at his students. The brunet looked back to where the boy was standing, but alas. He was gone. Confused, Vanderwood simply shook his head and gave the eager students his attention, but he still was thinking about the exquisite golden eyes he laid eyes on.

It was sunset when he finally tore himself away from the students, claiming to be busy when in fact he left work at the company. Vanderwood took his time, admiring the scenery he didn’t quite have the time to admire before. The sky was ablaze, bright hues of orange and yellow overpowering the blues. The grass sway to the breeze, and the river sparkled under the light like it contained jewels.

That’s when he noticed a red-head lying by the riverbank. Vanderwood cautiously approached him, and upon closer look, it was him – the owner of those eyes he was taken with. Seemed like he was a student at his former school, a transferee perhaps?

“Aren’t you supposed to go home?” Eyelids flew open as the boy abruptly sat up; embarrassed that he was caught taking a nap. He got a glimpse of those smoldering golden eyes once more and the brunet couldn’t help but think about how mesmerizing they were.

“What’s a teacher like you doing here?”

“I’m not a teacher anymore, kid.” The brunet said as a matter of fact, lifting the briefcase he held. Curious eyes flitted all over him, Vanderwood still having a mental quiz, trying to figure out what was it about those eyes that attracted him?

“You should be.” The red-head started, dusting off the grass that held unto his pants. “The others liked you. It also seemed like you’re good at it, despite being grumpy.” The student gave him a small smile, those eyes meeting his once again. The brunet didn’t notice how long he was staring, but the other’s chuckle brought him out of his stupor.

“You shouldn’t give a student those looks, Seongsaengnim.” The smile turned into a teasing smirk, smoldering gold eyes narrowing at him. Vanderwood could feel a smirk pulling at his lips that turned into a chuckle and a shake of his head. For a college student he met the first time, the kid was pretty good at catching him off guard.

“It’s Vanderwood, kid.” There it was again – expressive gold eyes. The red-head might sport the straightest face he’d ever seen, but those eyes tell otherwise.

“Choi Saeran.” The student, Saeran, said after a few minutes of silence. He held tight on his school bag and flashed Vanderwood a smile before walking away. Just like that? He was outwitted by, of all possible people, a student?

“You should go back to being a teacher. I heard the staff is lacking.” The cheeky brat called out with a wave, as Vanderwood followed him with his gaze. The offer sounded tempting. He was kind of missing the atmosphere of a classroom. The brunet went back home, head filled with thoughts and weighing the pros and cons of going back to the teaching practice. Most importantly, his mind kept replaying that short encounter he had with Choi Saeran. Cheeky, playful, has his own pace. Going back to being a teacher never sounded so tempting right now.

_No, Vanderwood. No preying on students and especially cheeky brats with smoldering gold eyes you just met the first time._


End file.
